Pickin’ & Grinnin’
February 24, 2009 If you’ve been following this column during the past season, you know that I have learned more about growing cotton than I could ever get from reading a book or searching the Internet. I’ve picked up some sage wisdom during the last couple of months, some kernels of truth from unexpected people in unexpected places. But this month, I figured something out on my own.
I can say without equivocation or doubt that whoever came up with the term “white gold” never did any of the picking themselves. Cotton’s most famous pseudonym wasn’t coined in the field, at least not by anybody that was picking cotton by hand.
After about three hours of “hard” labor and the help of eight (former) friends and family members, I was able to harvest a whopping 60 pounds of seed cotton from Drew’s Half Acre. Don’t get me wrong – there was a lot more cotton in the field. But three hours was all the free work I could muster. At current prices, that lint would be worth about $14.50 – not even enough gas money to get everybody back home.
But this project was never about the economics. I’ll leave that to the professionals. This was about watching the plants grow, understanding growers’ perspective, and feeling first-hand the knot in my stomach when the field hasn’t seen water in a month and temperatures are soaring above 100 degrees. It’s been about making new friends and spending time with those I love most. In those ways, Drew’s Half Acre has been a great success – and we’re not finished yet. My plan is to get the cotton ginned and see just how far down the supply chain we can take this project. Cotton isn’t grown to be picked or ginned or spun into yarn. It’s grown to clothe and provide textiles for our daily lives. That’s where we’re headed, and it should be an interesting ride.
Until next month, see you in the field …
Captions:
The farm labor poses after a hard afternoon of work. From left, Clint Fields, Joe Abrahams, Tommy Powers, Kelly Jones, Christine Negrete, Barbara Harris, Drew Harris and Jeff Harris.
Clint Fields and Joe Abrahams pose with the fruits of their labor. Pillowcases and wash buckets really do make good cotton sacks.
Christine Negrete poses during the day’s harvest. This could be the first time
anyone has hand-picked cotton wearing a turquoise necklace and designer sunglasses.
Drew’s mom Barbara Harris picks a handful of cotton down at the Half Acre. She says she picked cotton as a young girl on her granddaddy’s farm in Taylor, MS, but she probably shouldn’t quit her day job.
Finally, someone actually doing some work. Chris Harris admits this is the first time he’s ever picked cotton – and emphasizes it will be his last.
Kelly Jones and Tommy Powers dump their “cotton sacks” as Drew helps to form the “module.” Ok, this isn’t high-tech cotton harvesting. It’s not even low-tech. I wonder if someone would donate a module-building picker next year.
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